Header for ingot molds



Feb. 25; 1-929. 1,703,523

A. FORREST HEADER FOR meow uows- Filed Jul 19. 1927 I jyew,

Patented Feb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES ANDREW FORREST, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOTS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERSTATE IRON AND STEEL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

HEADER FOR meow MOLDS.

Application filed July 19,

My invention relates to ingot casting and particularly to hot tops for molds.

In casting steel ingots the metallic molds are customarily provided with headers, and when the mold and header are filled with molten metal the header conserves the heat '11 its metal and as solidification of the metal m the mold occurs the metal in the header acts as a feeder to the mold metal and supplies its shrinkage cavity, so that pipe or cavity due to shrinkage or segregation is usually contained in that part of the metal within the header. The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved header having certain advantages of construction whereby the cost of hot-top operation and maintenance is materially reduced.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and claimed, and a practical embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of an ingot mold and header exemplifying my invention; Fig.2 is a top plan view of the mold shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the header shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same; and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are respectively detail top, side and bottom views on an enlarged scale of fire bricks constituting the lining of the header, the brick in Fig. 6 being broken away at its central portion for convenience of illustration.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 indicates a metallic mold having an annular channel 2 in the upper end of its walls, and provided with a mold chamber or cavity 3, which is preferably of octagonal cross-sea. tion. A mold-stool 4, preferablyof the type shown in my Patent No. 1,612,862, is employed to form the bottom of the mold during the casting of the ingot. The header is formed with a circular cast-iron shell or casing -5 which is open at its ends and is conical or tapered inwardly and upwardly from its base towards its upper end; its base is of suitable size to seat on the top of the mold and has an annular depending flange 6 slightly inset from its perimeter to seat within the circular channel 2 of the mold, these parts being proportioned and arranged so that thefiange centers the header on the mold. The casing has lifting cars or lugs 7 at its top, and .an outwardly projecting circumferential shoulder 8 near its bottom forms a deflector to shed any fugitive metal outwardly away from 1927. Serial No. 206,893.

the mold and prevent its leaking into the mold chamber through the joint between the mold and casing. An inwardly directed horizontal ledge 9 is cast integral with the inner wall of the casing 5 at or near its base and is annular in contour or configuration as shown in Fig; 1.l The casing 5 is lined with refractory material formed in longitudinal sections, which are preferably but not necessarily of substantially the same length as the casing and arranged with their joints extending longitudinally of the passage formed'by them, so that the metal when poured into the mold flows through the header parallel with the joints of its lining. In the form shown the header lining is composed of a plurality of elongated integral fire-bricks which extend the length of the casing and are capable of being passed into it and assembled in place against its wall with their bases aligned by and flush on the ledge while the casing and ledge are assembled in'normal operative relation; the bricks 10 are uniformly tapered in width lengthwise from their lower'ends toward their upper ends to correspond with the taper of the casing and are formed as key-bricks with inwardly beveled side walls 11 which are conformed on radii equally spaced around the diameter ofthe casing as shown in Fig. t for example, except that any two adjacent bricks have their opposing sides or edges disposed to provide a passage of uniform cross-section, as for example parallel with each other to form a straight channel, to receive an elongated straight-sided filler brick 12 which is correspondingly shaped in crosssection and when seated in the channel wedges all the bricks into contact with the wall of the casing and edgewise to interlock them to gether. The filler-bricks are narrow and capable of being slid or passed into the casing through its smaller end, and in seating on the ledge they crowd and hold the key-bricks in position on the ledge, instead of away from it as they might do it put into the casing through its larger end. The key-bricks preferably, though not necessarily, are capable of being slid or passed into the casing through its smaller end, as then they abut against and are aligned by the ledge and held in position by it. The bricks preferably are integral for the length and height of the casing, but they may be formed in sections for this mension, and in either case they can be assembled in place as above described. The

outer faces of the bricks may be convex to fit the curvature of the casing 5, and their inner faces may be flat or curved to form an inner wall circular in cross-section as shown in Fig. 4; in any of these forms when the requisite number of bricks are assembled in the casing with their bases resting on the ledge 9 they form a lining which is held in place in and is unitary with the casing and. provides a substantially circular tapered passage or bore through the header. When the header is positioned on top of the mold its centering flange 6 positions the central vertical axis of its passage or bore approximately in line with the central vertical aXis of the mold chamber. When the bricks are integral throughout substantially the length of the casing all the joints between the sections of the lining are parallel with the longitudinal axis of the header, and so parallel with the flow of the metal through the header in casting, and there are no corners or joints between the lining sections to which the metal is liable to stick when flowing through its passage or solidifying therein. hen the bricks are sectional lengthwise their cross-joints may cause some of the metal to stick to the lining, and this form is not so desirable as the integral construction. But in either form, the lining sections can be assembled as described and are securely held in place in the casing and come away as a unitwith the latter when the header is stripped from the upper end of the cooled ingot, and as the passage or bore through the header preferably is circular in cross-section and is of greatest diameter and area at its bottom the lining readily and easily strips from the ingot end. Also, the uni tary organization of the casing and ledge posit-ions the lining sections with their lower edges in alinement and making a tight fit with the ledge to prevent formation of fins between these parts, and also prevents the ledge working loose in the handling of the header or under the action of the high heat of the molten metal, and the lining is permanent ly lined in the casing, and no portion of it can be loosened or displaced during the operations of assemblin the header on the mold or charging the mold or stripping the header from the cooled ingot end. These headers last for many heats or the casting of many ingots before the lining wears out and relining is necessary, in practice they greatly reduce the cost of operation and maintenance of hottop conditions. Furthermore, as m invention provides for assembling in place linings composed. of pie-formed sect-ions extending longitudinally of the header while a casing and its lining-seat are in their normal working relation, such linings can be as sembled in place without dismounting or disassembling any of these parts. In practice this feature is especially advantageous for lining renewals as it eliminates the considerable t-ime and labor otherwise required in disassembling and reasseinbling either the parts of sectional casings or a casing and its separable lining-retaining ring or plate, and it also reduces the time the headers are out of use.

I claim:

.1. A header for ingot molds comprising a tapered casing having an inner ledge, and a lining forn'ied of a plurality of narrow elongated longitudinal rcfractory sections including a retaining section and adapted to be assembled in interengaging position on the ledge while the latter is in its normal working position on the casing.

2. A. header for ingot molds comprising a tapered casing having an inner ledge, and a lining composed of a plurality of narrow elongated refractory sections integral longitudinally of the casing and having intercngaging sides and their inner faces forming substantially circular passage through the header.

3. A header for ingot molds com 'irising upwardly tapered casing having an inner ledge and a lining composed of a plurznity of refractory sections seated on the led and extending substantially the length of the casing and comprising a set of upwardly tapered sections and a filler section constructed to seat between two adjacent tapered sections on the ledge.

l. 'Aheader for ingot molds comprising an upwardly tapered casing having an inner ledge, and a lining composed of a plurality of refractory sections seated on the ledge and extending substantially the length of the casing, a set of said sections being upwardly tapered and having interlocking side walls, the opposite walls of two adjacent sections of said set forming a straight channel, and a straight-sided filler-section in said channel.

5. A header for ingot molds comprising a tapered casing having an inner integral ledge near its lower end, and a. refractory lining seated on said. ledge and comprising a set of key-bricks and a filler-brick extending substantially the length of the casing and form ing a substantially circular inner wall. said filler-brick and. two adjacent key-bricks being constructed to seat the former between the latter when the set of key-bricks is assembled on the ledge.

6. A. header for an ingot mold comprising a casing having a refractory lining and depending fiange at'its lower end constructed to enter a seat in an associated mold, anda circumferential shoulder above the flange and extending beyond the flange to form a de fiector above the mold chamber.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ANDREW? FORREST. 

